Device for hectographically printing a text



United States Patent T J u "a t aim k h c m c E I- P D. ww mm m QSFWFSKS 66688269 35555666 99999999 1 l l l l l ll .ll. 1 458806 2 48302776 w 46 04300 56725532 O 7 7 oo oo 0 2 4 2227-2333 an H a M b d m m 05 S d m d dem u e .mfl N w .1

am 8 m m dc G S-we N 97r N r. 98 F v E i n mn 588 8 6 uolz s t b 6ll c 9 l c ao a r p Bur. JD7A HDD r. de 0 N 68 m m e HwCW v HM .m AFPA .l lflzi] 2 253 7 2247 .1 [[111- [g Priority $1" Ii 1 11 Primary Examiner-William 13. Penn {3 H ,3 52%?" 5 Att0rne v-Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack ABSTRACT: A device for hectographically printing a text from a master card on a work piece. The device has a magazine for the work pieces and a magazine for the master cards. The master cards and the work pieces move along separate paths, meeting each other at the printing station. The magazine for the master cards is provided with means for partially leading a card out of the magazine in a first step, and the device operates such that the work piece puts a moistening mechanism and a further card supply in operation, responsive to master card sensing means for determining whether to print or not print according to preceded or uncoded portions of said master cards.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1925 Duncan.t.........

PATENTED [15m 5 I970 SHEET 1 BF 3 IACOBUS FREDENCUS aomnnun,

zopuu um 2oz PATE'NTEunsc 1 5 I976.

SHEET 2 OF 3 IACDBLIS FREDERICLIS GomBAuLT,

' i mvenrm fi u/MXw M W l j M tain parts have been left out and DEVICE FOR IIECTOGRAPHICALLY P uNTmo-A TEXT This invention relates to a device for. hectographically print-- ing a text from a master card on a work piece.

An object of the invention is to provide a device. with a magazine for master cards andaa magazine .for work pieces wherein after a text has been appliedto the work piece the master card on the one side and the work piece on the other hand are separately transferred to a receptacle.

The present invention also has for its object to provide a device of the type described which can be of simple construction, can besupplied at a more reasonable price and so is attractive for medium size enterprises.

A further object is to provide a device for hectographically printing a text from a master card on a work piece wherein the supply to the printing station takes place along separate substantially parallel paths and wherein the guiding functions are controlled by the master card'and/or thework piece, respectively, with the magazine being provided'with means for par-.

tially leading a card'out of said magazine and for putting the supply of a workpiece in operation ornot wherein in one case also the moistening mechanism is connected to the drive so that a work piece can be printed and inanother case the master cardleaves the device for a receptacle. 7 r A further object is to make the device of .the invention ca be of compact design making it provide a preselection of the 7 operation a mechanism through which a slide'in the magazine for the master card is shifted. 1 a i 1 On the cam disc a roller of a lever is capable of resting, said lever putting the moistening' mechanism in operation. Every time the cam disc is rotated, performing o'nerevolution, the

moistening mechanism, will alsobe brought in contactwith theworkpiece. I

Preferably the stop formed on the cam disc actuated by the feeler by way of a clutch, is operatively associated with a lever which by way of a clutch is adapted to connect the cam disc to the device's drive, said cam disc actuating a. lever which is. capable of moving the slide in the magazine for the master cards. The cam disc for putting into. operation the lever for moving the slide in the magazine ,for the master cards preferably is formed with a stop by means of which. a microswitch' for starting the feed of a workpiece may be put into or out of operation.

Said switch is electrically connectedto means by which a card as it partially projects from the magazine can be sensed.

A cheap, simple and yet efficient construction is obtained when the connection between the cam discs and the driving means of the device are formed by coil 'springclutches.

The sensing means disposed in the path of a'workpiece is. mounted on a shaft which by way of an escapementmeans causes the coil spring clutch disposed on the shaft for governing the moistening mechanism to turn onlyone revolution.

For being able to adjust the moistening mechanism the cam disc for operating it is formed adjustable. I 1 x The invention .is describedmore in detailwith the :help of the drawing, inwhich: i 1

FIG. 1 shows schematically a side view of'the. device of the invention;

FIG. 2 a correspondingview inwhich' for clearnesssake cer- FIG. 3-shows p'erspectively main featurestof the device.

FIG. 4 is asimplified electrical schematic diagram of the basic machines electrical components. V t

For the purpose of the application, the terma workpiece", as referred to therein, may relate to an envelope as such on- In the drawing, 1 represents a magazine for the envelopes E,

2,3 and 4 are rollers for transporting the envelopes E from the 'magazine 1 to the machine parts concerned. 5 is a shaft and 6 a clutch by which at command or preselection the shaft 5 can be connected to the driving mechanism of the device. The device comprises a number of continuously moving shafts, driven in any desired manner, not shown.

A lever 7 actuates the clutch 6 and a roller 8 is mounted on the shaft 9. An electromagnet 10 has an action discussed below. An' adjusting knob 11 (FIG. 2) extends to the exterior of the machine to adjust the action of the roller 8.

This is a known principle for feeding and separating sheets of paper. The eccentric is set in such a position by turning knob 11 (FIG. 2) that the appropriate gate is formed between 8 and 5. Apart from this setting, the eccentric does not turn.

Only rollers 2, 3 and 4 turn to feed the envelope into the machine. Feed rollers 12 and 13 are for' the workpiece. A

- lever 16 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 14 and is formed at its end with a slide 17 by which a master card in the magazine 18 can be picked from a stack K. A shaft l5 is part of the drive. A tow or felt 19 has its lower and hanging in a bowl of moistening fluid and cooperates with a roller 20 rotatably mounted from the shaft 21. I

The rollers 22 and 23 are for the transport of the workpiece. Asensing means or feeler 24 in the path of the workpiece cooperates with an escapement'ZS. A clutch 26, particularly a springclutch, is controlled by the escapement 25 whereas a shaft 27 of the machine is associated with the drive.

' A guide 28 is for the workpiece and 29 and 30 represent the pressing rollers proper. An electric feeler 31 has an arm which senses the front of one of the master cards K. 32 is an adjustably mounted slide. i 1

The master cards after use are collected'in a magazine 33 and the magazine 34 is for the treated or printed workpieces.

A spring 35 is fixed at one end 36. A roller 37 cooperates with a cam 38. 39 is one of the bearings for the shafts of the device and some of such bearings 39 have not been shown.

40 is a switch by which the transport of the envelopes E from'the magazine I is initiated. 41 is a stop formed on a'cam disc 42, said stop controlling the switch 40.43 is a clutch, particularly a spring clutch by which the .cam disc 42-can be connected to the drive shaft 15. 44 is alever coupled with the shaft 14, said lever 44 cooperating with the cam disc 42 by means of a roller disposed at its free end.

45 is a spring biased lever, substantially in its center rotatable on Mixed fulcrum. This lever is adapted tobe controlled at its other end by a stop 46 on the cam 38. 47 is the disc on which cam 38 is disposed. 48 is a lever rotatably mounted on the shaft 21 having a roller'37 restingon thecam 38 of the disc 47.

49 is an electromagnet the operation of which will be discussedlater and a knob 50 is disposed outside the device for adjusting the position of the cam disc 47.

The device operates as follows: A stack of envelopes E is in the magazine 1 in the way indicated whereas a stack of master cards K is in the magazine 18 in the way represented. After the machine has been put into operation the roller 2 will pick an envelope as a workpiece from the stack E, care being taken that only one work piece at a time is fed into the device. This 26 is controlled by the escapement lever 25, the disc 47 is connected to the drive shaft 27 which rotates in the direction indicated so that the disc 47 also will start, rotating in the .direction indicated, by the arrow, i.e. the cam 38 causes the which an address hasto be applied, or toforms Oflh3zllk6 to V be printed with a-text appearing on a master card.

roller 37,to move in the direction of the shaft 27 with its movement followed by the. lever 48. This rotates the shaft 21 and, the roller 20, carried by said shaft 21, of j the moistening mechanism is forced into pressure-applying relation with the pressing roller 22 which contact is maintained as long as the roller 37 is free from the cam 38. During the rotation of the disc 47 the stop 46 contacts the lever'45 and the spring clutch 43 connects the cam 42 to the shaft 15. As a result thereof the lever 44 will start rotating which movement is followed by the shaft 14 i.e. a slide 17 is moved in the magazine 18 by the lever 16, so expelling the lowermost card of the stack K from the magazine 18. A front slide 32 is so adjusted that only one card at a time can leave the magazine 18.

Care has to be taken that only a small portion of any card is removed from the magazine 18 by the-slide 17 to enable the selecting means 31 to sense a punched front of the master card which in the present case results in an electric switching command. If there is no punching to be sensed the master card is immediately led away to the magazine 33 without any further consequence or printing resulting from said action. In case there is some punching at the front of the master card, a switching command is given and an envelope E is advanced which envelope in the device itself gives the command, as by engaging feeler arm 24, foractions resulting in printing a text from the master card on the envelope. i

It is apparent then that if or when the front of an envelope comes into contact with the sensing means or feeler 24 the spring clutch 26 is controlled by way of the escapement 25 and the cam disc 47 is connected to the shaft 27. The lever 48 is permitted to move clockwise after passage of cam portion 38 and the moistening roller 20 will be pressed against the transport roller 22 by the shaft 21. Since the moistening roller 22 comes into contact with the envelope passing underneath it a defined portion of the envelope is moistened.

Since the cam disc 47 can be adjusted by means of the knob 50, it is possible to determine beforehand which portion of an envelope should be moistened. j

The purpose of the escapement lever 25 is to prevent the disc 47 from performing more than one single revolution. So long as the feeler 24 remains in contact with an envelope the escapement 25 will persist in its turned position. The leg drawn in FIG. 1 at the right will then be in contact with a protrusion of the coil spring clutch 26 by which the disc 47 of the shaft 27 will be disconnected. No further rotation of the disc 47 will then take place. So, with an'envel ope passing by, the moistening device 20 will only once come into operation.

The cam 38 of the disc 47 has a stop 46 formed on it which latter is adapted for operative engagement with the lower end of the lever 45. When the lever is pivotally moved by stop 46, a coil spring clutch 43 is actuated and the cam 42 is connected to the shaft of the drive. This willcause the cam 42 to rotate by shaft 15 in the direction clockwise direction indicated in FIG. 2, with the lever 44 being rotated, or oscillated which movement is followed by the shaft 14. The slide 17 will remove the lowermost card from the stack K in the magazine 18 by way ofthe lever 16. I Y

The coil spring-or torsion spring clutch 43 is so adjusted that at the end of each revolution the lowermost card extends beyond the magazine for a certain distance.

As the sensing means in the form of one or more microswitches 31 come into contact with the not prepunched master card, care has been taken then that the electromagnet 49 has been energized. Then the lever 45 is capable of releasing the coil spring clutch 43, the shaft .15 is put into operation and the card concerned is entirely removed from the magazine 18 and transported to the magazine 33 by way of the rollers 29 and 30. Said action has no further consequences. At the same time the next card is again brought into such a position that the sensing means are capable of coming into contact with the front of such card. i

In the case where a cardswith a prepunched front is concerned, care is taken that at themoment the cam 42 arrives in its quiescent position, the electromagnet 49 is not energized. The microswitch 40 for putting the transport of an envelope into operation has been switched in by itscontact with the stop 41 formed on the cam 42 so that now an envelope from the stack E is transported from the magazine 1 into the device. The electric connection between the microswitch 40 and the fecler switches 31 and the electromagnet 49, respectively, is such now that as the electromagnet 49 is not energized, the

microswitch 40 is put into operation whereby the electromagnet 10 is energized and the pawl or lever 7 puts the torsion spring-or coil clutch 6 on the shaft 5 into operation so that an envelope can be taken from the stack E of the magazine 1 and be transported to the rollers 12 and 13 whereafter the cycle is automatically completed in the way described above.

While the operation is believed to be reasonably clear from the foregoing, a summary review of a complete-cycle is as follows:

After feeding one card, cam 42 goes on turning until the next card is partly disposed.- At this moment, the sensing microswitches 31 (which lever extends into the path of the card) are either switched by the front edge of the card or not switched when there is an indent in the card edge.

At the same moment microswitch 40 (FIG. 2) is activated for a short period.'

The above mentioned switches are so connected with a conventional switch or terminal board and with solenoid 10 (FIG. 1) and solenoid 49(FIG. 2) that: Y

a. When the card is not to be printed, solenoid 49 is activated, lever 45 tilts (oscillates), clutch 43 is not declutched and cam 42 is not stopped, but goes on turning feeding the card completely out of the hopper and feeding the next card partly out of the hopper (position reached at first line of this paragraph).

b. When the card is to be printed, solenoid 49 is not activated and clutch 43 is declutched, cam 42 stops in a predetermined position. Instead of solenoid 49, now solenoid 10 is activated, clutching the envelope feed to the drive means, an envelope is fed, its front edge moving lever 24 (FIG. 1) clutching cam 47 to the drive means. After an adjustable part of a revolution, lever 48 is moved by cam 47 activating the moistening and a little later pin 46 on cam 47 hits lever 45, activating the card feed, as explained above.

The device of the invention is capable of operating with prepunched as well as not prepunched master cards, i.e. in case the device is purchased for a business where no preselection is necessary, the parts concerned such as sensing means 31 with magnet 49 can be eliminated. In this case, when feed ing a master card from the magazine 18, an envelope from the magazine 1 will be supplied and the device will make an imprint from the master card on the envelope in each cycle.

Iclaim:

1. In a hectographic printing machine for selectively printing and not printing printed text material from a plurality of respectively coded and uncoded master printing cards one at a time, upon correspondingly individually fed work pieces having printing areas and moistening areas, as driven along a predetermined travel path from a workpiece supply hopper associated with said machine, the combination including:

a. drive means defining at least a part of ,the travel path and for selectively advancing work pieces from an input side to an output side of the machine;

b. a first sensing means connected with said drive means and operably connected with first and second clutch means, said first sensing means including means actuatable by a workpiece in the travel path to initiate actuation of said first clutch means;

. moistening means disposed adjacent a part of and including means operably connected with said drive means by the first clutch means, for moistening a selected area of said work piece;

d. pressure-applying means disposedtoward said machine output side and defining part of said travel path for applying printing pressure to said master card and to a workpiece as may be advanced to a confronting relationship therewith, and at times for advancing said master cards independently without a work piece along a predetermined portion of said path;

. means operatively interconnecting said first and second clutch means and said drive means so that said second clutch means operates responsive to operation of said clutch means, and including means for operating said second clutch means independently of said means actuating the said moistening means;

second sensing means for differentially sensing coded and uncoded master cards, and including electromechanical sensing means operatively connected to said drive means for effecting the selection to print and to not print;

g. master card hopper means including a hopper having input and output sides, and disposed at'an advanced location along said travel path adjacent said second sensing means, and adapted to support a plurality of the coded and uncoded master printing cards;and i h. master card feeding means disposed adjacent and operatively connected with said card hopper, with said second sensing means, and with said drive means via said second I clutch means for feeding said individual master cards in two separate steps out of said hopper;

1. the first step moving said cards only partially out of said hopper to subject the coded and uncoded portions of the cards to said sensing means for determining and effecting the selection; and i 2. the second step feeding said cards completely out from said hopper to said pressure-applying means for operably effecting transfer of the printed text material from the master card to the associated workpiece in accordance with a selection to print; and for selectively operably advancing the master card without printing to a machine-associated master card receiving hopper adjacent the output side of said machine responsive to a selection not to print.

2. A printing machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said first clutch means of paragraph (b comprises a first control cam rotatably operable by said drive means to control the position of said moistening means, with means for limiting rotation thereof to one turn every time said first clutch means is activated; a lever pivotally operably mounted to activate confronting relation of each work piece and master card upon their forming a printing pair may be varied selectively to effect correct transfer of the printed matter from the master card onto a workpiece relative to the selected moistened area of said workpiece.

3. A printing machine as defined in claim 2, wherein said second sensing means of paragraph (f) and the means of paragraph (e) mutually comprise electrical circuitry and switch means including means to sense said coded actuating means the first of which is connected to said first sensing means for infeeding of a single work piece and for effecting selective operation of said means of paragraph (e) and the second being operable when actuated as by nonprinting selection means to actuate said second clutch means independently of said r'noisteningmeans; and said second clutch means of paragraph (b) comprises a second control cam rotatably operably connected with said drive means and with said master card feeding means of paragraph (h) to control the feed of said cards; means rigidly connected with said second control cam actuating a mechanically operated switch constituting part of the aforesaid electrical circuitry, and said switch being electrically connected to said second sensing means actuatable by said master cards.

4. A printing machine as defined in claim 3 wherein said first and second clutch means include spring type rotatable clutches.

5. A printing machine as defined in claim 2 wherein clutch I means include rotatable spring type clutches; and said first said second clutch means; means rigidly connected with said first control cam for engaging and actuating said lever to actuate said second clutch means; means to adjust the stopping position of said first control cam after each turn, whereby the sensing means of paragraph (11) further includes a pivotally 'mounted escapement lever operably restraining rotation of said first clutch means, and when said first sensing means is so activated by a workpiece, said escapement lever prevents said first clutch from making more than one full turn.

6. A printing machine as defined in claim I wherein said drive means of paragraph (acomprises a first electromagnetic drive means and related electrical circuitry with switch means connected therewith and operatively with said second sensing means of paragraph (f) for effecting input feeding of said workpieces into the machine at the input side. 

